‘I think the movie is something that people should see’: Robert De Niro has backtracked on his previous comments on the controversial documentary Vaxxed.
Photograph: Ernesto Di Stefano/WireImage

Robert De Niro has appeared on US TV to defend documentary Vaxxed, which was pulled from this year’s Tribeca film festival after causing controversy.

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The Oscar winner appeared on the Today show to talk about the festival, but spoke at length about his thoughts on the potential link between vaccinations and autism and the importance of the much-debated film.

“I think the movie is something that people should see,” he said. “There’s a lot of information about things that are happening with the CDC, the pharmaceutical companies, there’s a lot of things that are not said. I, as a parent of a child who has autism, I’m concerned. And I want to know the truth. I’m not anti-vaccine. I want safe vaccines.”

His comments are set to cause further ire in the medical community after his heavily swayed decision to remove the film was seen as a step in the right direction.

“It showed the weight and heft of the scientific community when it comes together,” said Alison Singer, president of the Autism Science Foundation. “It’s wonderful that we are now seeing science triumph – to me that was the message of what has happened: science won.”

But after it was taken off the programme and De Niro claimed he didn’t believe it contributed to the discussion, this latest interview sees the star reversing on these comments.

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“For me to get so upset here today, on the Today show with you guys, means there’s something there,” he said. “That’s all I wanted, was for the movie to be seen. People can make their own judgment, but you must see it. There’s other things that just document and show. It’s not a simple thing … I’m not a scientist, but I’ve seen so much reaction of just ‘let’s find out the truth’, so let’s just find out the truth.”

Vaxxed was ultimately picked up for release in the US and is currently being screened at a small number of cinemas. The film’s director, Andrew Wakefield, was banned from practising medicine in the UK.